home recording studio

Ok, I’m getting fucking sick of my PC crashing or not working properly when I want to record stuff (using cubase).

I'm thinking of just spanking the credit card, buying a Mac mini and starting over using garage band.

I use a computer like an 8 tack using nothing more than a bit of reverb, the eq then saving out as a wav/mp3.

Do you have any recommendations or ideas based on your setup for good sounding, easy recording?

Thanks in advance.

2 inch tape. Oooops too late.

wow. thats almost the exact situation i was in last year.

i bought my 1.33/768 pbook when garage band was released. i had messed around with digital performer on my mother's ibm, as well as logic in a local studio. garage band has been rock solid for almost a year now. i think we kinda write some similar stuff, and if all you want is 8 tracks + reverb, the mini with at least 512 would suit you well.

the only thing i would suggest is if you plan on using the mini's internal hd make sure you overdose on ram. there are places that will open the mini and install a 1gb for a bit less than apple, and you can sell the old 256 on ebay.

cheers squire. i'm gonna fuckin' do it!

Buy good mics and learn how to use them.

yeah, the rest of my setup is fine. I use an sm58 through a roland digital mixer. it's just the computer bit that's been sucking dick.

your computer sucks dick? i may be interested in buying said computer.

Here's what I don't understand:
Why do you even have Cubase if all you do is add a little reverb and EQ?
Also: If you take music as nothing more than a hobby, is it really worth buying a whole new computer for it?

I have a P IV 2GHz, 512 RAM, Win XP Pro, and run Cubase SX 2 and have never crashed it.

Maybe you should do some troubleshooting before you go buying a whole new system.

i use the creative Extigy for external soundcard into a gateway laptop... i have an external hard drive which i use to back up everything after i do any work, i use mainly Sound Forge for .wav editing....

everything comes out super clean, (sometimes too clean)...

i guess what i am saying is first try to simplify your set up before diving into finances...

anyway, good songwriting goes beyond recording quality..

good luck with whatever you decide

we used a firepod for our recording, they're like $400 and great. as for a new puter, buy a pbook. you can take them anywhere you want. check it......

[Edited on Feb 27, 2005 by b_vantatenhove]

Umm, you'll need more than an SM58 to have mature recordings. I'd grab some small-diaphragm condensors for drums/acoustic guitar, maybe a large diaphragm condensor for vocals, kick drum, guitar amps, etc. I guess it all depends on what you wanna do, but starting off with a well rounded set of mics (and knowing how and when to use them) is far more important than buying fancy recording gear.

I done brought the mac.

Macs are nice; I hear they come equipped with an excellent sound card. I had to buy an Echo Layla to get the sound performance I desired.

You probably should invest in a mixer if you want to do some serious recording. A mixer is nice because for no other reason, you can control the sound going in/out of your computer without messing with the computer’s volume settings at all. I have mine set up so all sound goes from my soundcard, to my computer’s channels 13/14 and 15/16, then out the control room outs and into the speakers. It is a pain to turn on the mixer every time I want sound (as well as the soundcard, but that is something else entirely) but I am used to it now and it is totally worth it to be able to adjust the volume by reaching next to me and pulling a slider rather than going into my volume settings. Mixers are also great if you ever want to use an exterior effects box or pedal.

I have a Behringer Eurorack Mx 20 04a. I got it almost 3 years ago new and I’ve had no complaints. Some people swear by Mackie, but I love my Behringer. That thing survived when I was helping with sound through many a street punk show.

Behringers are great! I have an MX2442, and the gains are quiet and smooth, and the value is amazing. I don't know how Behringer gets away with charging such low prices compared to Mackie products. I hope it stays that way.... I have no complaints.

I wouldn't rush out and buy an expensive mic... you can get a fairly serviceable mic for a lot less... Learn how to use compression properly, that will serve you a lot better than an expensive mic. I'm not the only person who thinks this, I'm culling it from production mags like Sound on Sound & Future Music.

Just for argument's sake (I'm in debate mode tonight), I would disagree with this. A compressor will add in one more piece of potential noise to the signal chain. Whereas practicing your mic technique and instrument technique and creating a good mix will accomplish basically the same thing a compressor does automatically. I think good mic and proper placement will be a much better route than relying on a compressor. Flame on...

How could I fault someone for having their own opinion, which was worded with propper grammer and spelling?

I'm just of the opinion that for begining musicians (where you would place myself, I can't cary a tune to save my life...), that it's not advisable to spend their way to musical creation... I'm a firm believer in stealing all the things you can, and then adding what you can afford to that... but... if you can afford the merch, certainly a good mic doesn't hurt.

If you can't mic the room with a few 58's and sound like hell on fire then I don't want to hear your shit.

I'm very drunk right now.

Edited to say, get your tone and mix right before it gets to tape and you won't have to do all that fiddle faddlin around with the post.

[Edited on Mar 13, 2005 by FridgeMagnet]

A Behringer mixer was one of the things my ex-roomate recommended when I needed more audio quality that just plugging directly into my soundcard with a mic (I’ve since upgraded way, way past that.) Behringer has always been the least expensive high-quality mixer on the market. For what I paid for my 20 channel Behringer, I probably would got a simple 8-channel Mackie. I used a friend’s Mackie before and I have to admit, I like my Beringer better.

So true. Mics are also the most expensive part, but they make a huge difference.

i'm not sure i agree with you. we're talking about $500 worth of fancy recording gear. starting off with good mics and learning how to use them could be an investment of time and money that might hinder an immediate creative urge. especially if a "mature" recording is meaningless to him.

Mics don't have to be the most expensive part these days. There are some very nice low cost studio condenser mics on the market these days (I'll reccomend a few if anyone is interested). Rather than spend $500 on fancy hardware, you could get a full set of decent mics.

You can get by with an SM58 for a lot of things though, and if we're talking about just needing a setup to record immediate creative urges I'd reccomend a cheap, portable setup or something like 'cool edit' for the PC rather than any fancy recording gear at all. You can probably also get away with using plug-in compressors rather than forking out more money for a hardware one. Just keep in mind that an SM58 will sound like an SM58 - whether or not you're using a behringer or a million dollar SSL console (I've used both).

I know I got here a bit late for this - but it IS possible to use a PC for music production without problems. I run a pro recording studio off of a PC and I just finished up a 160 track project last night with no glitches. I'll also have to second Velouria - the Echo Layla cards are excellent. I was thinking about buying a mac at one point, but to do what I do on a PC right now on a Mac, I'd have to spend about ten times as much money as what I did for my PC, and I need to save all that extra money for drugs and whores.

Hence "it depends on what you wanna do".

But as others said - good mics are ridiculously cheap now, there's really no excuse to not own a couple SM57's as well as some cheap large diaphragm condensors, since you can pic up mics like the MXL 990 for $60 now. The most important thing, of course, is knowing how and when to use what. Having good mics doesn't mean you'll have a great recording - although having shitty mics will pretty much guarantee it - it's up to the engineer to know how to place them to achieve the desired effect.